Former 'Ex-Gay' Lears Denounce 'Conversn Therapy' In A New Documentary : NPR

Contents:

• ‘PRAY AWAY THE GAY’ HAS GONE AWAY. WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS TRYG TO STOP IT?
• WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE PEOPLE WNS A 'PASTOR' TRYG TO 'PRAY AWAY THE GAY'?
• PASTOR ‘PRAYS THE GAY AWAY’ ON ‘WHAT WOULD YOU DO?”
• FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY
• PRAY THE GAY AWAY
• IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRAY THE GAY AWAY?
• 'WHAT WOULD YOU DO?' REP: PASTOR TRI TO PRAY GAY OUT OF TEEN, BOUNCER DENI OVERWEIGHT CLUB PATRON
• PRAYG THE GAY AWAY, ONE AWAY MSAGE AT A TIME
• “WHY DON’T GOD ANSWER PRAYERS TO TAKE AWAY GAY FEELGS?”
• MICHELE BACHMANN CLIC: WHERE YOU CAN PRAY AWAY THE GAY?
• THE HARMFUL IMPLITNS OF “PRAYG THE GAY AWAY”
• WHAT DO “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” MEAN?

‘PRAY AWAY THE GAY’ HAS GONE AWAY. WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS TRYG TO STOP IT?

Exod Internatnal, evangelilism’s flagship ex-gay mistry, shut down 2013 after former lear Alan Chambers said had ed pa and harm to too many people and that more than 99 percent of those who’d sought help there hadn’t actually experienced an orientatn change. While mistri cludg Exod Internatnal and Foc on the Fay ed to preach that homosexual sire should be elimated, most evangelil church, pastors, and mental health profsnals today emphasize chasty amid sir that might last a lifetime.

Even the Nashville Statement, a 14-pot manifto by the plementarian Council of Biblil Manhood and Womanhood, matas that homosexual sire may never change. A popular realy televisn show recently tted people’s reactns to seeg an evangelil pastor teractg wh a teenage boy hop of “prayg the gay” out of him.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE PEOPLE WNS A 'PASTOR' TRYG TO 'PRAY AWAY THE GAY'?

In this segment, which tak place at an Atlanta rtrant, an actor playg a young gay man is told by two other actors playg his parents that a pastor is g ― and eventually shows up ― to “pray away the gay. “And when your pastor don’t speak about homosexualy or quot you parts of the Bible that tell you that ’s wrong, we really, really believe this and further creas low self-teem.

His extensive creds clu “My Fair Lady” at Olney Theatre, a Helen Hay nomated turn as a gay teen “Girliend” at Signature Theatre, the tle role “Bat Boy” at 1st Stage, and most recently a part Signature Theatre’s “Sweeney Todd. It's a movement that's born out of a larger culture of homophobia and transphobia that still persists the majory of Christian church today. It wasn't until the suici of his iend, who was also part of the "ex-gay" movement, that he reevaluated everythg.

PASTOR ‘PRAYS THE GAY AWAY’ ON ‘WHAT WOULD YOU DO?”

Interview highlights clu extend web-only answers and have been eded for length and clary: Interview Highlights Thomas on how he joed the "ex-gay" movement and Exod Internatnal I was out of the closet the '80s.

They also had a group for the gays, and unrneath all of that olns there was this toxic theology that said that you need to overe homosexualy. Stolakis on what the ex-gay and nversn therapy movement looks like today Conversn therapy and the ex-LGBTQ movement has always been practiced lolly.

It's bee very lennial-driven bee there are younger people who've grown up homophobic and transphobic environments who are ready and willg to take the place of people like Randy.

FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY

• Gay nversn therapy. The monaly for the five ems is the new mil edy, “Pray the Gay Away, ” which premier Mount Vernon, Washgton, on November 8. • “Pray the Gay Away”.

PRAY THE GAY AWAY

I wonred what prompted him to wre a mil edy play about gay nversn therapy and set the early 1980s the Missouri Synod (LCMS)?

Regardg gay nversn therapy, this is the practice—which has now been wily rejected, even seen as harmful for those subjected to —by which those wh same sex attractn are immersed “right thkg. Th the tle of Conrad’s play, taken om the well-worn joke: pray the gay away. Among those I met were the man who plays the pastor, the woman who plays the mother of a gay son who took his life, and “Mart Luther.

” Most imprsive was the young man who plays the boy who is the foc of havg his gay prayed away. The revelatns surroundg Marc Bachmann's psychotherapy practice along wh his statements equatg gay people to barbarians reflect the eply held view among too many people that homosexualy is a psychologil or moral choice that n be altered and ed should be. As someone who profs to help gays and lbians bee "straight, " Dr.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRAY THE GAY AWAY?

There are several nservative relig anizatns, like Exod Internatnal and Homosexuals Anonymo, that claim to have helped people change their sexual orientatn through prayer, unselg, or a batn of both.

'WHAT WOULD YOU DO?' REP: PASTOR TRI TO PRAY GAY OUT OF TEEN, BOUNCER DENI OVERWEIGHT CLUB PATRON

Moreover, there are licensed mental health profsnals who practice what are lled reparative or nversn therapi signed to make gay people heterosexual. The bt-known group of such clicians is the Natnal Associatn for Rearch and Therapy of Homosexualy (NARTH), led by psychologist Joseph Nilosi. He and his followers claim that gays and lbians suffer om a damagg blend of childhood trma, shamg their fai of orig, and chronic unmet needs for love and affectn om their same-sex parents.

Reparative therapy supposedly helps gay clients bee heterosexual by workg wh them to amelrate toxic feelgs stemmg om their damaged childhoods.

Robert Spzer, a proment psychiatrist who, oddly enough, led the charge to remove homosexualy as a disease om the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual, had unrtaken rearch wh 200 women and men who unrwent reparative therapy and believed themselv to be "cured" of homosexualy, as evinced by their abily to engage sexual relatns wh the oppose sex, marry heterosexually, and nceive children. In fact, there are many reports of people unrgog treatments offered by ex-gay mistri who not only return to homosexualy but have also been trmatized by this so-lled therapy. The real diseas are homophobia and heterosexism, not homosexualy.

PRAYG THE GAY AWAY, ONE AWAY MSAGE AT A TIME

It is important to regnize that the great majory of psychotherapy profsnals argue vociferoly that such "treatment" is uhil bee homosexualy is not an illns — rather the "illns" is our tolerance of sexual and genr behavrs fallg outsi rtrictive societal norms. I also tell clients that reparative and nversn therapi, bis beg effective, are psychologilly harmful to gays and lbians, which is another reason I do not remend them and will not assist clients procurg such treatment. People like Marc and Michele Bachmann believe that acceptg and even celebratg gay and lbian people will evably lead to the moral cle of our society.

DERN and STEPHANIE FASANOVIDEO: What Would You Do: Pastor Tri To Pray The Gay Out Of Teen; -- Here is a rep of this week's episo of "What Would You Do?

“WHY DON’T GOD ANSWER PRAYERS TO TAKE AWAY GAY FEELGS?”

The harst h is the cy’s Ain-Amerin gay muny.

Watch what happens:A teen boy's parents and their pastor attempt to pray the gay out of him.

MICHELE BACHMANN CLIC: WHERE YOU CAN PRAY AWAY THE GAY?

What Would You Do: Pastor Tri to Pray the Gay Out of TeenConservative, Christian parents jt n’t accept that their teenage son is gay. In a sperate attempt to “fix” him, they have their pastor try to pray the gay out of him.

It wasn't until a bible study class the 7th gra that I heard where gay people e om.

THE HARMFUL IMPLITNS OF “PRAYG THE GAY AWAY”

"And if he do enough, he be a homosexual. I didn’t have anyone I uld talk to about my dilemma but I did have a dial-up nnectn 1997, the same year AOL lnched Instant a closeted kid the '90s, AIM was like a crawlspace om your home to a gay bar.

I was ready to block her when she replied < then there was watchg an episo of Ricki Lake featurg men who claimed to be ex-gay, I searched AOL profil for guys who were part of this gay-turned-straight movement. In fact, the overwhelmg majory of search rults read "ex-ex-gay" and belonged to men who had qu anizatns that promised a cure. Sean wasn’t one of was his late 20s, raised the Midwt, and studyg to be a therapist at an Evangelil universy while workg for an undisclosed but proment ex-gay anizatn.

WHAT DO “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” MEAN?

When I had no luck, I applied what ltle I knew about him to 2003, several months after we stopped talkg, ex-gay activist Michael Johnston, a poster boy for the movement and an adviser to Jerry Falwell, had what associat scribed as a “moral fall” and checked to a Christian rehab Kentucky. Ex-gay watchdog groups alleged Johnston threw gay sex parti and knowgly exposed atten to AIDS.

I'd tell him about all the moments that led me to the happs I experience he'd let me, I'd share the story of that time I slammed this boy, whose Czech name I uldn't pronounce, agast the wall of a gay bar durg my first kiss. I was readg your article about Gay Teen Suicis and Bullyg, about how some people pray and pray for God to take away their gay feelgs and there is a reason that he don’t that they don’t know about. My bt iend mted suici when we were both 18 bee he uldn’t accept that he was gay.

I want to VERY rpectfully suggt that “acceptg one’s gayns” is not the bt solutn to the grief and sadns that bound up realizg one has same-sex sir. I know the culture’s pro-gay msage is that there’s nothg wrong wh homosexualy so jt accept , but that’s not God’s posn. Which leads me to answer your qutn: why would God not take away someone’s gay feelgs?